Getty Images Acquires Peter Carrette Archive

Getty Images, one of the world’s leading creators and distributors of still imagery, footage and multimedia products, today announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the Peter Carrette Archive. The collection hails from Icon Images, the Sydney-based photo agency founded by the renowned and, at times, controversial photographer Peter Carrette.

One of the most prolific celebrity photographers of his generation, Carrette has worked with a multitude of personalities, from Russell Crowe to Prince Harry and Angelina Jolie. His archive specialises in celebrity images and has one of the most extensive back catalogues in the world.

“We are thrilled to announce the addition of Peter Carrette’s vast and varied library of work to the Getty Images’ archival collection,” says Stuart Hannagan, Vice President, Australasia and Director of Photography Asia Pacific, Getty Images. “The archive will provide Getty Images’ customers with access to an even broader collection of significant international and Australian imagery, which includes a diverse catalogue ranging from the who’s who of the celebrity world, to war zones in Grenada, El Salvador and Nicaragua.”

Hannagan continues: “Peter Carrette was a pioneer in the field of celebrity photography and his archive further strengthens Getty Images’ Australian, and indeed its international, editorial collection, ensuring that our customers have access to the most comprehensive collection of content all on one platform.”

Carrette, who passed away in November 2010, was known for pushing the boundaries of photojournalism and taking iconic photographs. For his notable beachside image of US soldiers disembarking a landing craft during the 1983 invasion of Grenada, Carrette famously hired a boat to arrive under cover of darkness to ensure he had the best vantage point.

An Englishman who called Sydney’s Bondi Beach home, Carrette counted Australian actor Jack Thompson amongst his close friends. It was Thompson who introduced Carrette to the plight of the Krousar Thmey orphanage in Cambodia, a cause that Carrette supported for over twenty years, helping to build the Krouser Thmey Cambodian children’s charity.